Want to learn how to make plaid patterns in Affinity from scratch?
In this week’s tutorial, I’m showing you how to create two completely different plaid patterns using simple rectangles, opacity settings, duplication, and rotation.
We’ll start with a classic gingham pattern using just one color, then create a more traditional plaid using multiple colors and different line widths.
Once you understand how these patterns are built, they’re incredibly easy to customize with your own colors which makes them perfect for digital papers, seasonal designs, school spirit graphics, pattern filled text, and so much more.
Pattern #1: Create a Gingham Pattern in Affinity
We’ll start with the easier of the two patterns: gingham.
Gingham may look complicated when you see the finished pattern, but the basic tile is surprisingly simple to create.
Step 1: Create Your Square
Start by creating a: 3000 x 3000 px square
This will give us the base area for building our gingham pattern.
Step 2: Add Your First Rectangle
Next, create a: 3000 x 1500 px rectangle
Place the rectangle inside your square and choose the color you want to use for your gingham.
Then reduce the rectangle’s opacity to 50%.
The lower opacity is important because when our rectangles overlap, the overlapping areas will automatically appear darker.
Step 3: Duplicate and Rotate
Duplicate your rectangle and rotate the copy 90 degrees counterclockwise.
Now you have one horizontal rectangle and one vertical rectangle overlapping each other.
And just like that, you have the foundation of your gingham pattern!
Where the two semi transparent rectangles overlap, the color becomes darker, giving you that recognizable gingham effect without having to manually create multiple shades.
Turn Your Gingham Tile Into a Full Pattern
Once the basic pattern is created, I show you how to size it down and begin duplicating it.
Continue duplicating and arranging the pattern until you’ve filled your entire page.
This is also where you can decide how large or small you want your finished gingham to appear.
A larger tile will give you a bold, oversized gingham, while sizing it down further creates a smaller, tighter pattern.
Pattern #2: Create a Traditional Plaid in Affinity
For our second pattern, we’re creating something with a little more variety.
Instead of evenly sized rectangles in one color, this plaid uses multiple colors and different line widths to create a more traditional look.
Again, we’ll start with a: 3000 x 3000 px square
But this time, we’re going to build a series of stripes inside it.
Add Your Vertical Stripes
Begin adding vertical rectangles across the square.
This is where you can have some fun because the rectangles don’t all need to be the same width.
I’ll use a combination of narrow, medium, and wider rectangles to give the pattern more visual interest.
For this example, I also use three different colors throughout the stripes.
Experiment with the placement, width, and colors until you have a stripe combination you like.
Group Your Stripes and Adjust the Opacity
Once all of your vertical rectangles are in place, select them and group them together.
Then reduce the opacity of the entire group to: 75% opacity
Just like with our gingham pattern, reducing the opacity is going to create some really interesting color variations once we overlap another set of stripes.
Duplicate and Rotate
Duplicate the entire group of vertical rectangles.
Then rotate the duplicated group 90 degrees counterclockwise.
Now you have the same stripe pattern running both vertically and horizontally.
As the transparent colors overlap, you’ll start getting new shades and variations throughout the design and suddenly those simple rectangles look like a traditional plaid!
Build Your Full Plaid Digital Paper
Once you’re happy with the basic plaid, size the completed pattern down and begin duplicating it across your page.
Continue until the entire page is filled.
You can also experiment with the size of your pattern. Keep it larger for a bold plaid or reduce it further for a smaller, tighter pattern.
Customize Your Plaid for Different Designs
One of my favorite things about creating plaid from scratch is how easy it is to make completely different versions using the same basic technique.
Try changing:
- Your color combinations
- The width of your stripes
- The spacing between stripes
- The scale of the finished pattern
- The opacity
- The number of colors
You could create traditional Christmas plaid, fall plaid, school color plaid, pastel gingham, Halloween plaid, farmhouse patterns, and so much more.
Once you understand how the pattern is constructed, the possibilities are endless.
Use Your Plaid Patterns in Other Designs
Your finished patterns don’t have to be used only as digital paper.
Try using them to fill:
- Text
- Canva letter frames
- Shapes
- School spirit graphics
- Holiday designs
- Clipart
- Backgrounds
- PNG designs
You can also coordinate several plaid and gingham patterns into a complete digital paper collection.
Final Thoughts
It’s actually much easier than it looks to make plaid patterns in Affinity.
For a simple gingham pattern, all you need is a square, two semi-transparent rectangles, and a 90 degree rotation.
For a more traditional plaid pattern, you can use the same basic concept but add multiple stripe widths and colors to create something much more detailed.
Once you learn these two methods, you can start experimenting with your own color palettes and create custom patterns for practically any season, niche, or design style.
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